Dirty world of greenwashing is alive and well in Australia

Lush green forests, sparkling waterfalls, cute animals, echo-this, echo-that; Australian retailers are full of products featuring green imagery.

A walk down the aisles of any supermarket reveals a wealth of environmentally based advertisements adorning common consumer products, promising customers that they are doing a good thing by purchasing their products.

The phenomenon of greenwashing is probably as old as advertising itself. The term was coined by activist Jay Westerveld in 1986. Westerveld noticed that the Fijian beach hotel where he was staying had posted a note advising guests to reuse their towels; The hotel was also in the process of building new bungalows along the pristine beach.